What is a ‘hold’? — The news of the day, as I mentioned earlier, is that Richard Shelby has decided to place a hold on everything that eats, breathes or moves unless Alabama gets a couple billion more in pork. Before we take a step further on this, it's worth noting that Shelby is doing exactly …

Senate Shark Jump Announced — You've seen the reports that Sen. Richard Shelby (R) of Alabama has taken the perhaps unprecedented step of placing holds on ALL of President Obama's nominees until he gets the money for a couple of big earmarked pork barrel projects he feels entitled to back in his home state.

Full Statement From Shelby's Office On The Blanket Hold — Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) spokesperson Jonathan Graffeo sent TPM the following statement this morning on Shelby's decision to place holds on a number of Obama's nominees Thursday: — Sen. Shelby has placed holds on several pending nominees due …

Boiling Tea — The attitude toward the Tea Party movement is an emerging division in the American electorate. Those who support and those who oppose the Tea Party agenda are often as different as conservatives and progressives. The Tea Party attitude is more predictive …

Palin e-mails reveal a powerful ‘first dude’ — Nearly 3,000 pages of e-mails that the first gentleman, Todd Palin, exchanged with state officials draw a picture of his influence on policy in the Sarah Palin administration. Other e-mails are still being withheld by the state of Alaska.

Why are liberals so condescending? — Every political community includes some members who insist that their side has all the answers and that their adversaries are idiots. But American liberals, to a degree far surpassing conservatives, appear committed to the proposition that their views are correct …

Patrick Kennedy: Scott Brown's candidacy ‘a joke’ — Sen. Scott Brown's (R-Mass.) election has been shown to be “a joke,” the son of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said Thursday. — Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) castigated Brown for having pushed to be sworn in ahead of schedule …

Palin to Post: I'm not ripping Rush — Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is criticizing a report on a Washington Post blog claiming that she is going after conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh. — On Thursday the Washington Post blog “The Plum Line” posted an item under the headline …

Fiscal Scare Tactics — These days it's hard to pick up a newspaper or turn on a news program without encountering stern warnings about the federal budget deficit. The deficit threatens economic recovery, we're told; it puts American economic stability at risk; it will undermine our influence in the world.

Cornyn: No thanks to Obama Q & amp; A — Senate Republicans don't have much of an appetite to give President Barack Obama their version of question-and-answer time - not after seeing how Obama handled House Republicans last week. — “We're always happy to hear from the president …

Harold Ford Superstar — U.S. Senate wannabe's tour rider anticipates swarms of adoring fans — Like Jay-Z and Lady Gaga, Harold Ford, Jr. has a tour rider. The former Tennessee congressman, who is now trying to carpetbag his way to a Senate seat in New York, banks about $20,000 …

Focus on the Family buys pre-game ad time for Super Bowl — There's a new Super Bowl surprise from Focus on the Family: a second ad. — The evangelical group that bought ad time in the CBS game telecast will announce today that it has bought time in the pregame show to air a second ad four times.

Lobbying Imperils Overhaul of Student Loans — WASHINGTON — Four months ago, it appeared all but certain that the White House and Democrats in Congress would succeed in overhauling the student loan business and ending government subsidies to private lenders.

Obama attends CIA Khost memorial — As Washington scurried to prepare for a couple feet of snow, Barack Obama made a morning visit to the CIA to attend a memorial for the seven CIA officers killed by a Jordanian double agent in Khost Afghanistan late last year, Salon's Mike Madden reported for the White House press pool:

Americans Reject Keynesian Economics — Richard Nixon once said, “We're all Keynesians now.” But that was a long time ago, and it's certainly not the case anymore (if it ever was). — While influential 20th Century economist John Maynard Keynes would say it's best to increase deficit spending …

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